Archive for the ‘Job Mathew’ Category

Five catholic priests involved in sexploiting a married woman exploiting the confession made: Faithful ritual led to repeated raping of the woman!

Five catholic priests repeatedly rape a married woman: Nowadays, the news goes in this way, “A man, husband of a woman who was sexploited by a group of Catholic priests, complained to Church authorities that his wife has been subjected to serial sexual abuse by the clergy by exploiting her confessional secrets”. Five Kerala priests from the Malankara Orthodox Church (MOC) were suspended on 23-06-2018, Saturday, that his wife has been subjected to serial sexual abuse by the clergy by exploiting her confessional secrets after an audio clip containing serious allegations of sexual assault and abuse of clerical power did the rounds on social media[1]. Three priests belong to Niranam diocese, one Thumpamon diocese and another from the diocese of Delhi. Here, the details given by the “Times Now” TV channel in English are available[2]. Here, the stand of the husband could be heard, as he talks apologetically, as if he does not want to go to police[3]. Here, all the details of the five priests with photographs can be seen in Malayalam[4].

The details of the Catholic priests involved in sexploitation: The catholic priests involved in the sexploitation have been identified and the details are as follows:

Sl.No

Catholic priest FATHER

Address

Phone No / cell

e-mail

1

Jijo J. Abraham

Nalpanal, Kunnamthanam P.O, Thiruvalla – 689 581

04692710143

2

Job Mathew

M.G.D. Ashramam, Karunagiri, Karukachal

0481-2486384

3

Johnson V. Mathew

Mannil, Thekkemala P.O, Kozhencherry – 689 654

4

Abraham Vargese (Sony)

Puthote, Mundiypally, Kunnamthanam.

0469-2693532

94474 63013

5

Jaise K. George

C-2, D/27B, Janakpuri, New Delhi – 110 058

09717766530

frjaise@gmail.com

Audio / video clips expose the sexploitation: In the clip, a man alleges that his wife was assaulted by a priest before their marriage[5]. When she confessed to another priest, the man says, he blackmailed her into having sex with him, and threatened to tell her husband if she didn’t. He then sent a picture of himself with the woman to a third priest, who sexually assaulted her, the husband says. A spokesperson for the MOC P. C. Elias said the five priests were suspended pending an enquiry. “We got a complaint from the woman’s husband but we have no idea about the truth of the allegations. An internal inquiry will be conducted and based on its outcome, the Church would decide whether to restore responsibilities to the priests or take further action, if the allegations are found to have substance”. The husband, who swears by his fidelity and commitment to the church, says details of a five star hotel bill in his wife’s mail box blew the lid off the scandal[6]. The man confides during the conversation that a priest had coerced her into an abusive relationship and the history of abuse predated their marriage. Overcome with guilt, the woman confessed to another priest before her child’s baptism. The confessor also turned predator and shared her pictures with another priest, who also took advantage of her plight[7].

The sex video changed hands and the woman was also sexploited accordingly: The video clip changed many hands within the clergy, the husband says during the conversation[8]. The man, seething with anger over being betrayed by the very people meant to guide him spiritually, fears more priests are involved and his wife hadn’t possibly told him the full story fearing reprisals from the influential clergy. He wants the priests to be defrocked for blackmailing a believer using her confessional secrets, considered a sacrilege. The man heard making the allegations in the audio clip hasn’t yet filed a police complaint. He says in the clip that he sent his wife back to her house, and that her family was trying to file a complaint against him. He also says elders from the community have called to dissuade him from complaining. In other words, the powerful church wants to suppress the whole sexploitation. When five Christian priests raped a married woman, they must have been arrested immediately, but the “suspension news” appears as cruel joke. It cannot be taken as an internal matter of them, as it involves serious sexploitation of married women. Ironically, the National Women Commission and other feminist organizations are keeping quiet. It is intriguing to not that the husband complained did not complaint to police. Then, what the man wants to do?

The media’s pathetic reporting: NDTV says[9], “Kerala Man Alleges Priests Sexually Abused Wife; Church Orders Probe”! It repeats the PTI news and does not comment more. It is quite intriguing, amusing and shocking to note that the way the media that claims so many things about their credibility, stand and other journalistic virtues report in this way[10]. So when Christian priests rape women, only, church is empowered to order enquiry and police are not required! News18 reported that they have been transferred! So if you want transfer, rape married woman in church! Any reader can The media has been pathetic, anesthetized and anti-women when issues like this comes, because, evidently, it is of Christians. But, in secular India, why and how the women are also are treated differently? The Deputy Editor of the, Businessline has been reasonable, sensitive and dealt with the sensitive issue directly giving suggestion for action as follows.

Law of the land should deal with abuser priests of Kerala: The Malankara Orthodox Church, a wealthy and influential religious sect in the State, barred five of its priests from performing sacramental duties after allegations that they sexually abused a woman in Thiruvalla, a small town famous for its rich diaspora. Notwithstanding the suspension of the priests, the incident exposes the dark and ugly underbelly of religious institutions and the clergy, especially in Kerala where most factions of the church and organisations of other forms of faith command immense financial, social and political clout[11]. It is indeed shameful and shocking that the priests were able to blackmail the woman, who belonged to their own herd, by exploiting her own confession secrets and passing the information around, leading to further abuse. This and many similar incidents reported in the recent past expose the chinks in the counselling and confession apparatus of not just the church but also other religious organisations, pointing towards the need to demand more transparency in the operations of religious organisations, especially in the way complaints of abuse and exploitation are treated. Such incidents are, for sure, a blot on not just the Malankara Church but on all segments of Christian faith and casts a shadow over the way women and the vulnerable are treated.

The Church does not act like AMMA, the body of Malayalam film actors in Kerala: Already, there have been allegations that religious organisations function in alarmingly patriarchal way at a time pontiffs such as Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church, a stronger and larger force in Kerala, are calling for more gender sensitive policies and offering more avenues for women in the affairs of the church. Hence, the Malankara Orthodox Church must take appropriate action against the priests if found guilty and should let the laws of the land, not just the rules of the church, deal with them, especially given that many people including the believers have expressed fear that the maximum punishment these priests would meet could be a suspension, which will bring matters back to the normal sooner or later. The civil society must be vigilant to make sure the Church does not act like AMMA, the body of Malayalam film actors in Kerala, which shamelessly — shocking rights organisations and gender activists — welcomed back into its fold Dileep, a superstar accused of orchestrating one of the most heinous episodes of rape and abduction on an actress[12].

The husband complained in March, 2018, but, Chuch says the victim to go to police in June 2018: Speaking to TNM, the church now claims that it is not them, but the victim who should approach the police[13]. Authorities at the church told TNM, “Why should we approach the police when we have taken cognisance of the complaint and formed an internal committee to inquire?” Asked why the church has not approached the police despite receiving the complaint three months ago, a highly placed church official said that it is the woman who should approach the police[14]. “What is stopping the woman from going to the police? Why should we approach the police when we have taken cognizance of the complaint and formed an internal committee to inquire? Suppose this was a case involving a minor, we would have approached the police ourselves. But in this case, the woman is an adult and she can seek the help of police if she wants to,” the official said.